Software applications developed for smaller form-factor devices, such as smart phones, tablets, and wearable device, sometimes have user interfaces that are difficult to navigate. One particular difficulty is when users lose their place when navigating between screens, or are jarred by a sudden transition from one screen to another.
For example, when engaged in a conversation via a messaging application on a mobile device, a user may navigate to a screen associated with a word processing application in order to edit a document that is the subject of the conversation. After doing so, the user may wish to navigate to a photo application in order to attach a photo to a message that is sent in the context of the conversation. But jumping to the photo application or returning to the messaging app is where the user may encounter difficulty.
When navigating from application to application, a user may move to a home screen to select the next application, which typically involves navigating a roster of applications until the desired one is found. Alternatively, some mobile operating systems are capable of surfacing a representation of which applications are presently open, allowing a user to navigate relatively smoothly from one open application to another without jumping to the home screen.
But in either case, and in more complicated scenarios where a user has navigated into nested screens, getting back to the previous application may be a challenge. It is common for a user to accidentally close one app when moving to another, for instance, or forget where an icon for launching an application is located. Such hindrances are even more troublesome when a user is engaged in a conversation or other interactions that involve multiple applications and capabilities.
Overview
Technology is disclosed herein that enhances the user experience in software applications by linking screens and content in a user interface. In one implementation, an application renders a user interface that includes a navigation element. The navigation element visually links at least one screen to one other screen. The application surfaces a control in the navigation element with which to load data items. The application presents content associated with the data item in the one screen and presents other content associated with the data item in the one other screen.
This Overview is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Technical Disclosure. It may be understood that this Overview is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.